Sociology professor Linda Semu was among the invited presenters when international scholars and practitioners gathered recently to discuss health in Africa and the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

Sometimes the path to gender equality seems too steep and difficult a climb, but Semu is passionate about working to change cultural norms and empowering women everywhere.

“My argument is that we have to look beyond the individual goals and take a holistic view in terms of gender and culture,” says the international comparative sociologist who came from Malawi to the U.S. for her master’s and Ph.D.

No one would have predicted or even guessed that Jabraan Ismail’s Cinema degree would land him a first job at the national headquarters of the American Physical Therapy Association in Alexandria, Va.

The 2014 grad may be a long way from Sunset Boulevard, but he couldn’t be happier, describing his work as new media specialist to the organization’s 90,000 members as “awesome” and “exciting.”

“I love what I do whether it’s researching new gear or filming PT Day on Capitol Hill,” says Ismail of the job that has taken him, camera in tow, on assignments dotting the country from Seattle to Philadelphia. Read more »

“Hair is a fascinating, complex and integral component of racial, sexual, gender, generational, class and cultural politics,” said English professor Mary Bendel-Simso. About a dozen different professors from a diversity of departments presented guest lectures and labs for the 14 students enrolled in "Hair: A Scholarly Untangling," the Sophomore Interdisciplinary Studies (SIS) course designed and taught by Bendel-Simso this spring.